The knight and the dungeon
by Kladkake
Summary: Come and join Jaune Arc in his great quest to make friend's, to make money, and to become the strongest hero in Orario. With a goddess of war to teach him how to fight, and an advisor that wouldn't care if he were to die, how will he complete his goal? A crossover of RWBY and danmachi.
1. Prologue

The knight and the dungeon.

 **AN** : This is a crossover fic between RWBY and Is it wrong to pick up girls in a dungeon? I was inspired to make this after reading a few RPG and game world fic's in the RWBY tag.

Now this is all going to be set in the Danmachi world, but all characters are going to be from the RWBY universe. I'm going to use some OC to fill lesser roles, but don't worry they won't be important to the main story.

For you who are not familiar with the Danmachi series, I'll do my best to explain concepts and such in the fic.

Lastly I will be posting this in the RWBY section because this might be the only RWBY X Danmachi crossover in existence so far.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY or Danmachi.**

-Linebreak-

It was a day like any other in the dungeon city of Orario. The same adventurers were making their way to the dungeon. The same salesmen were trying to garner their attention in the hopes of selling their good's. And the same bar's and cafes were getting ready for another day of serving food and drink to the people.

However one thing was not the same as usual.

''I guess this... is it?''

A young man in light armor spoke to no one but himself as he look up at a building that could easily be mistaken as a run down and abandoned project.

Did the person he was looking for really live in this house? He could actually hear the house creek as a slightly stiff wind blew through.

But then again it perfectly fit the description he'd gotten from his Guild adviser, ''She lives in a wrecked complex in the southern district. Just ask anyone for directions when you get close to the wall and they'll help you out.''

A sigh escaped his lips at the thought of his 'Adviser'. Seriously that woman had done the only the bare minimum in terms of helping him get along during his first few days in the city.

But, good help or not he had reached his destination and all he had to do now was knock on the door.

He stepped up to the slightly cracked and maybe rotten wooden door, and then... nothing.

''Just gotta knock.''

''…''

''… okay... deep breaths'' he inhaled deeply and then let the air back out. ''Alright, let's go.'' he held his hand out, poised to deliver the good old three knocks. ''Yup... just gotta knock.''

His hand remained motionless.

A few more deep breaths, he could do this, he just needed to take a minute to psyche up and think his approach through one last time.

But then the door opened, and he let out a high pitched manly shriek.

The person he saw inside was a woman so beautiful she took his breath away. Or maybe it was because he'd fallen on his butt in surprise.

He looked up to the woman and saw her gaze down on him, an eyebrow raised and a very small frown. She wanted to know why he was here, well he could tell her exactly why. Just as he had planned, start with step one.

He held a hand out for her to shake from his place on the ground, as it were normal to greet someone while sitting in the dirt.

''Can I join your Familia?''

His mind went blank, that was step four, he'd gotten ahead of himself. Again. But it was nothing to worry about, he could still save this he just had to go back and do as planned.

''I mean, uhh-... My name is Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it.'' Nailed it. NOT!

That was the greeting he'd decided not to use.

He sat there frozen, drowning in his own social awkwardness.

''Do they?'' Was her reply.

He had expected her to just tell him to leave so he had to guess this was a good sign. He didn't know what to say now though. He couldn't help but focus on how nice her voice sounded.

''Well..'' He snapped back to reality when she began talking again. ''Would you like to come inside and properly discuss this? I'd like to know a bit more about you before I make a decision.''

Jaune picked himself off the ground as fast as he could and nodded to her, he didn't trust himself to not manage to spout something stupid for the moment.

-Linebreak-

Jaune was unsure what he had expected the discussion to be like, or if he'd even had any expectations at all. But if he'd had any, they would not be like what was currently happening.

''Maybe this one.'' The woman said as she handed him a what he would consider a pretty strangely shaped sword. She walked a few steps away and looked him over. ''Yes that Dao might suit you a bit more than the daggers.''

She walked over to a rickety looking chair in the corner and sat down.

Her eye's settled on Jaune who was still dumbly standing in the middle of the room with an unfamiliar weapon in hand. She motioned for him to get started, and so he did, slipping into what he assumed to be a proper stance for the weapon and then began swinging it around.

She observed him for a few moments before she began talking. ''Well then. As you were the one to seek me out you may already know of me, but I will start by introducing myself. I am Glynda. Goddess of Warfare and Knowledge.''

''Currently my Familia is made up of only two members, and this house is all that we own.'' She paused and leaned forward slightly, making Jaune stop his stumbling attempts at swordsmanship to give her his full attention. ''Now, tell me, how many Familia did you go to before coming to me?''

He felt as if that question was a punch in the gut, and it had only gotten harder every time he had been asked it over the last few days.

''T-that's uhh..'' He started sweating under Glynda's increasingly sharp gaze.

''Before today I-'' He gathered himself, just like the other one's Glynda would not like his answer, but if he was ready for it then the rejection might hurt a little less. ''I visited six other Familia before I came here.''

He closed his eyes and unconsciously gripped the blade she'd given him as hard as he could. Now came the disgusted look of a god who felt insulted by a mere human who thought he could settle for second best. Or even worse seventh best.

''I see.'' She responded simply.

''I'm sorry.''

''Don't be.''

''Sorry.''

Jaunes eye's opened wide when he suddenly heard a faint chuckle from the goddess. She had a smile so small it was barely noticeable, and her eyes definitely portrayed some mirth.

''Then my second question. Why did you decide to come to me after all the others?''

He considered the question without letting the tension leave his body, he didn't want to be caught off guard if this was just her messing with him.

''Well, I asked my adviser if there were any Familia that suited a newbie like me and she recommended you.'' He went over the words he'd just said in his head for a moment before hastily correcting himself. ''N-not implying that this is a low level Familia, just that you might have use for someone like me!''

After his flustered attempt to smooth over the slight insult over he noticed that the goddess had lost the amused look. She now stared at him with a piercing gaze. It was enough to make him flinch and take a step back.

If he wasn't already so tense he might have even run away.

''I see.''

Jaune swallowed the 'I'm sorry' that almost instinctively rose out of him.

''Then tell me, Jaune'' she continued ''What do you want to accomplish here?''

He stayed silent. This was the first time he'd been asked that, the six other Familia, nor even his Adviser had asked him that. Now that he thought about it telling her what he to Orario for would actually be pretty embarrassing.

''I...I want to be a.'' He trailed off. It was way harder to say now than it had been when he was younger.

''Please say that again, I couldn't hear you.''

''I want to be a hero.''

There. He'd said it.

''I see.''

''Sorr-'' Jaune bit his lip and held back the scream of frustration. Of course that wouldn't impress her. What sort of 17 year old could say that with a straight face?

''I think you will fit in here just fine then.''

Jaune made a noise somewhere between a grunt and a shriek as the goddess continued.

''You are just about as eccentric as my pair of children are, I'm sure Ren and Nora will be happy to have you with us.'' She stood up and walked over to face him. ''That is, if you are willing to pledge your loyalty to me, as your god.''

He was stunned. Somehow he'd lost all his confidence when the other Familia had turned him away. It took him a moment but he was able to work past his shock and answer the goddes.

''I can!...'' He thought for a beat ''I mean. Um. I will?'' he didn't know if that was better. ''I accept.'' Was his final answer, in a much more certain tone than previously.

''Then let's perform the ceremony immediately.'' Glynda decalred with such finality that Jaune couldn't even hesitate. She directed him to kneel and remove his armor and shirt.

When he was ready she told him how the ceremony would proceed and what he was to say.

''I Jaune Arc, Human from the village of Risenny, hereby pledge to follow and revere the goddess Glynda.''

''I Glynda accept you, Jaune Arc, and welcome you into my Familia.'' She walked around him and crouched down at his back. Then she pricked her finger with a needle, and let a single drop of blood fall onto his back.

It did not hit his skin. Somehow it fell into it, slight ripples traveling across his back, and slowly black runes appeared. She proceeded to inscribe into his back the runes that bound him to her, and freed his soul to realize it's full potential.

After several minutes she inscribed the last runes. ''With this you, Jaune Arc, are bound to me and my Familia. This is your Falna.

Jaune Arc

Level one

Strenght:I-0 Defence: I-0 Dexterity: I-0 Agility: I-0 Magic: I-0

Magic ()

Skills ()

-linebreak-

 **AN** : This is pretty much just a prologue chapter. Next chapter I'll make sure to explain some of the concepts and do some dungeon exploring.

Hope you enjoyed, and please tell me what you think of this work.


	2. Chapter one: Enter the dungeon

Chapter one: The dungeon.

-Linebreak-

The sun was shining.

People could be heard starting to go about their days all around the city.

And Jaune was trying to stay on his feet as his Goddess strapped yet another weapon onto his person, specifically the back plate of his armor.

''Goddess, do I really need that?''

She stopped her attempt at fixing a belt under the plate long enough for him to turn around and face her.

''I mean don't you think two swords and a pair of daggers will be enough for the first floor?''

He gestured to the blades he was already carrying, the Dao he had tried the day before sat in a sheath on his left hip. Another sword that she had called a Gladius on his right. Then there was a pair of daggers, one was set on the back of his belt, the other was nestled in under his chest plate entirely hidden for some reason she had yet to tell him.

Glynda looked at him with the same neutrality he was slowly getting used to, only the slightest frown on her lips. ''Jaune I already told you that the blades are of poor make.'' After a short pause she gestured to him. ''And you might as well only count the swords as your weapons, the dagger on your belt is for extracting magic stones. And the other one I will advice you to keep hidden at all times unless you truly need it.''

''Okay.'' he granted ''But I think these two will do for now. I don't really need the.. the uh-''

''Bastard sword.''

''Yeah I don't think I need a Bastard on my back. Actually if you strapped that on me, I wouldn't have anywhere to put my backpack.''

His last words were enough to finally convince her, as she set the long blade down and leaned on it. Somehow the pose made her look more like a warrior than Jaune himself, armed to the teeth as he was.

''I apologize, I have gotten a bit carried away. But it is only because I'm worried, if you underestimate the dungeon you will get killed.'' She walked past him towards the house, but stopped and looked back at him. ''Even the upper floors can be deadly if you get caught off guard.''

Jaune let the words sink in, he'd never be able to face anyone if he got killed in the dungeon on the first day.

He gave her a wide smile before she could go back into the house and then bowed to her. ''Thank you for everything goddess!''

When he leaned back up he was treated to Glynda's smiling face ''That's a death flag, Jaune. Try to avoid those. Good luck today.''

As she finally entered the house Jaune was left in confusion. ''What? Death flag? What's a death flag?''

-Linebreak-

''Thank you! Please come again!''

Jaune waved back to the cheerful street stall owner as he continued on his way to the dungeon. His last 150 lien had just gone to buy himself some breakfast. Though that was only if fried potato croquettes counted as breakfast. They did in his book.

While walking he bit into one of the fried treats and let his eyes wander, all around him the streets and building were already full of life. Stalls were open and people were shouting out, advertising whatever wares they were selling.

Shops and restaurants were already filling with people, and bars already had people preparing for the night.

But Jaunes eye's were flying around to look at all the other adventurers that were heading in the same direction as him. There were so many kinds of people he had never seen before so casually mingling together here.

Elves, Dwarves, Prums, Faunus and Amazones. Even after more than a week in Orario he couldn't help but feel amazed when seeing the different races of people.

But yet more amazing was their equipment.

Many of the elves were dressed in silk robes and wielded staves, but he could also spy some who had wooden swords at their waists. If the stories he'd been told as a child were true, then those wooden blades were more than capable of cutting through metal.

Then there were the Dwarves, clad in thick plated armors that made them look more like walking fortresses than living creatures.

And even though he'd gotten a bit used to it now, his cheeks gained a bit of color as saw the Amazones and the female Faunus. Both races preferred to take a less is more approach to armor, some shoving more skin than others. He'd even seen one Amazoness wearing what was obviously a bikini a few days earlier.

Other than the Elves most adventurers seemed to choose whatever weapon they preferred. There were Prums with spears that looked comically long compared to their relatively small bodies. And some amazons were toting around hammers that probably weighed half a ton each.

A Dwarf held a broom over his head while walking next an Elf. He had no idea what that was about.

His attention went from the people around him to his destination. In the center of the great city Orario stood a tower so tall the top couldn't be seen from the ground even on a clear skied day.

Babel, the tower of the gods.

The funny thing about the massive structure was the fact that the gods more often than not referred to it as the 'Lid on the dungeon'. As if the wonder of architecture was no big deal. But it might not actually be that incredible to them.

Jaune caught himself before he entered the tower, he had one last thing to do before he took his first dive into the dungeon.

As hard as she was to talk to, having a quick consultation with his adviser would likely help him out a lot.

And so he changed course, walking around the outside of the great tower until he came to the other side.

There stood a building connected to Babel, the Guild headquarter. The building was exactly as gaudy as one would expect from the organization that ran many of the things that went on in Orario.

He weaved trough the crowds who went in and out of the building and came into the hall.

It barely took ten seconds to spot his adviser.

She was sitting at the farthest edge of the reception counter, sipping what seemed to be wine from a tall glass and reading a book. The almost dozen other workers at the reception were busy talking to long lines of adventurer's and civilians who had request's for the guild.

He didn't mind the strange scene much anymore, this was pretty much what it had been like since he first registered as an adventurer.

This woman was Cinder Fall. A goddess currently working for the guild because she lost a bet with another god.

Walking up to her he got the same greeting as usual.

None at all.

She only turned the page of her book. ''You bounced back quickly this time. If you want me to give you directions to another Familia you'll have to wait, I have some paperwork to finish.''

He had to push his frustration with her to the back of his mind, she only ever got harder to deal with when she got under your skin. ''Yeah uh. Thanks Cinder, but I wont be needing that.''

That got her attention, she actually turned to look at him. ''Oh, so you finally decided to call it quits and leave town huh?'' She sounded way too satisfied with that idea.

''No.'' He replied with a bit more heat than intended, and subtly sighed as he saw her start to smile a little. ''Actually it's because I got accepted into the Glynda Familia yesterday.'' And to his great relief her smile disappeared. ''I just wanted to see if there was anything I need to know before I head into the dungeon.''

Cinder put her book down and took a long sip from her glass before she looked him over. ''Well, you seem well equipped enough,'' She paused for a moment, and to his concern smiled at him. ''Well equipped enough that I can tell you something that we usually don't get to tell newbies.''

She leaned forward and motion for him to do the same. Against all better judgment and admittedly poor survival instinct he did.

''Now, this time of year there are quite a lot of new adventurers like you, all eager to spend their days on the first floor.'' She had a smug smile on her face as she continued. ''I'm sure you realize that means there will be quite some competition for the monsters on the first floor.''

''Yes.'' He hadn't actually thought about that, but he didn't want to give her more opportunities to call him an idiot.

She didn't look convinced in the least but still continued with a condescending tone, as if she was speaking to a child. ''Now you have some options Jaune.'' She help up two fingers. ''One: You waste your time on the first floor, looking for whatever worthless scraps you can get your hands on.''

''Or option number two.'' She leaned in a little more, and Jaune couldn't help but do the same. ''You could skip right on down to the second or third floor.'' She whispered.

''WHAT!?''

Jaune shrunk in on himself as he suddenly became the center of attention for a moment. He couldn't believe what she was suggesting though. He'd read the bestiary and maps of the dungeons upper floors. Monsters in the dungeon got stronger the deeper one went, and according to the guides only the first floor was suitable for someone who was just starting out.

Cinder however only gave him that infuriatingly condescending look. ''Well, If you're so scared then all I can tell you to do is keep it in mind. Honestly the first three floors aren't much different, same types of monsters, and you look like you've come prepared to conquer the deep floors.''

''Wait, all of this stuff is-''

''Jaune, I'm telling you there is nothing to worry about.'' She finally leaned back. ''Just think about it when you go down there. Run along now, be an adventurer and all that.'' She dismissed him with those words and went back to reading her book.

Jaune hesitated before turning to leave. ''Alright, I'll remember that. Thanks.. I guess.''

He felt like that had gone a little better than the other times he'd talked to her, but her 'advice' he would definitely have to take with a grain of salt.

He made his way out through the crowds of people, and then into the tower.

Going inside he was amazed by the sight, it was a single massive room with columns spread in even spaces on the outer rim. Those columns functioned as elevators to the 'first floor' of Babel. But he payed less mind to those and focused on the hole in the middle of the room.

10 meters in diameter, it was the hole that led into the first floor of the dungeon. Adventurers were constantly going into and coming out of it, and now it was his turn.

He gathered all the confidence he could muster and went in. This was the start of his adventure.

-Linebreak-

Jaune looked at the white stone walls around him and sighed. He was bored.

He'd been wandering on the first floor for almost two hours and the closest he had gotten to any action so far had been when two people got into a fistfight over who had killed a Goblin first.

He turned a corner and found himself looking at the back of yet another adventurer.

Turning back he went a bit further along the corridor and checked the next corner. Nope just another..

''Wait.'' He stepped fully into the new corridor and looked at what stood a dozen meters away. Standing on two legs, covered in dark brown fur, it's head was that of a dog. That was no adventurer. That was a Kobold, one of the two types of monsters on the first floor.

He didn't hesitate for another second, his Dao already drawn and held in a two handed grip he charged it.

It noticed his loud steps and readied itself for battle with him. Holding it's clawed hands out it sprinted at him, howling all the way.

And Jaune in his excitement didn't even have the time to be scared as he met it with a downwards slash of his blade. Taking one of it's arms off and cutting deeply through it's torso.

The monster was dead before it hit the floor.

And Jaune was left alone once again, breathing heavily after the impromptu sprint. He stared at the dead monster, for a while, awkwardly wondering what to do.

Finally he remembered. The magic stone.

He put his blade down and drew the dagger on his back, then he turned the corpse over and cut into it's chest. He didn't mind the blood all that much, he'd dealt with butchering the odd chicken back when his mother tried to teach him to cook.

After a bit of digging he found the small crystal in the monster and pulled it out. The reaction after removing the stone was shocking. The corpse and all the blood turned into dust in an instant, and the dust dispersed so fast it felt like the monster had never even been there.

The only evidence of the monster ever having been there was the little purple crystal in his hand. The magic stone.

Every monster in the dungeon had one, it was their life force as well as their greatest weak spot. If the crystal was broken then the monster would die instantly.

He sheathed the dagger behind his back and picked the Dao back up. Excitement started welling up inside him, his first kill. The true start to his adventure.

He resisted the urge to holler about his great victory, at least while he knew there were still tons of people around.

The magic stone was haphazardly dropped into his empty backpack and then he was on his way again.

He was left to wander for another hour before things got interesting again.

He'd entered a square room, that was all it was, white walls and floor, completely empty.

Just as he was about to turn back and keep searching for monsters he heard a cracking noise, and rocks hitting the floor.

Looking back into the room he was treated to the sight of the walls cracking and bulging outwards. What he was witnessing was monsters as they were given birth through the walls of the dungeon.

Dragging their way out was a pair of Goblins and another Kobold. He felt that he was a bit to far away from them to rush in and try to get them while they were still half in the walls. Instead he waited and came up with a game plan.

The Kobold was by far the more agile monster so it would be on him before the goblins had a chance to even start running for him. When he'd dealt with the Kobold he could take his time with the goblins.

Then came the time to act on his plan, as he'd thought the Kobold came first but when he went to slash at it, it stopped just outside his range. As Jaune was momentarily dumbfounded by it's intelligent action the Goblins came around it's sides.

With his plan having failed Jaune shifted the Dao into his right hand to free up his left.

And it was right on time as the Kobold jumped at him, he held out his left arm and as soon as it bit into his glove he pivoted to throw it into the wall. As he then turned and slashed at the downed dog monster, the Goblins wasted no time and put a few scratches on his legs.

As fast as he could, he turned back and swung in a wide arc at the Goblins. It managed to catch one of them in the head while the other stepped in and dug it's sharp nails into his left leg.

He grabbed it's face and pushed it back before delivering the final strike.

As soon as the monsters were dead he fell on his rear. ''Shit!'' he swore over and over while doing an admirable job of not crying. He glared at the dead Goblins and awkwardly kicked the one closest to his less hurt right leg. ''You guys seriously suck!''

A good few minutes later he got around to extracting their magic stones. As he let the last magic stone fall into his backpack he decided to call it a day.

Four kills weren't all that bad considering it was his first run.

-Linebreak-

The attendant at the item exchange didn't even bother trying to sound impressed or thankful as he appraised the four stones and then pulled out some lien from under the counter.

''Four magic stones, first floor quality, all worth a total of..'' The man drawled in an unfriendly tone ''120 lien.''

Jaune looked from the coins on the counter and up to the face of the attendant. The mans eyes dared him. DARED him to try and negotiate a better reward for the little stones.

Jaune took the money with a subdued 'Thank you' and left to go home.

Better luck next time, as they say.

-Linebreak-

 **AN** : Hopefully you've enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter I'll cover Jaunes status update and focus more on dungeon crawling.


	3. Chapter two: Trial by jerks

Chapter two: Trial by jerks.

-Linebreak-

''Yo. Cardin! I got the name of that guy!''

The man in question, Cardin Winchester, lazily glanced up from the couch he had thrown himself into a few hours earlier. ''Took you long enough Dove.'' He sat up and turned to face the other boy who had taken an adjacent seat.

''Yeah well, took a while to get to goddess while she was in any mood to speak with me.''

Cardin could accept that, Cinder had been in a pretty bad mood ever since she was forced to act as an adviser to some low rank newbie.

But now that they knew who the guy was they could fix her problem without making more of a fuzz for her.

''So what's the info on him? And none of the boring shit, Dove, name appearance and how strong he seems to be.''

''Okay. Right, so, his name is Jaune Arc. Bout as tall as you, bit shorter, blonde, and he has some shit gear. Pretty recognizable, he'll stand out even among the other newbies.''

''Aaaand…'' Dove fished a piece of paper out of his pocket. ''I had to talk to one of my pal's at the item exchange to find out, but seems he only ever brings in first floor garbage to them.''

''So he's weak.'' Cardin summarized.

''Super weak.''

Cardin leaned back and went over the information for a minute before revealing his plan. ''Alright then. Guy's a piece of trash so we wont have to waste too much time on this. We'll pick him up when he enters Babel tomorrow and invite him to our party.'' He paused a moment before supplying ''We can just say he'd be perfect to fill the last spot in our formation.''

''We'll be going down anyways so we bring him to the fifth or sixth floor, lead him far enough from the stairs, and then leave him to get eaten while we keep going down.''

''Anyone asks, he thought he was hot shit and separated from the group to try and solo a floor he couldn't handle.''

As Dove complimented his planning skills with a laugh, Cardin got up to head for his room. ''You tell Russel and Sky that we'll leave tomorrow at..'' He paused and looked back to Dove. ''Did you get a time frame on when he goes to the dungeon?''

''…''

''Oh for fucks sake.''

-Linebreak-

Too long.

Too heavy.

Too thin, it would snap right off if he used that one.

He groaned in frustration, the pile of weapons had just about everything that he wasn't looking for. He shifted a few more weapons around to see if there was anything he had missed.

''Wait..'' He pulled something up from the pile. ''Is this a farming hoe?''

''Jaune?''

He startled when Glynda poked her head out from the bedroom door.

''The sun has barely risen Jaune, why are you making a racket so early?''

Jaune scratched the back of his head with a sheepish chuckle, sometime as he was going through the weapons he had forgotten to be quiet about it.

''Sorry goddess.'' He put the hoe down, gently this time. ''I'm just looking for something like a dagger.''

The goddess ran a hand through her currently untidy hair and sighed. ''And you couldn't wait until I had woken up to do that?''

''Well the dungeon gets more crowded during the middle of the-'' he cut off as Glynda walked back into the bedroom. In a bit of panic he followed her in, worried that he'd made her angry by waking her so early.

When inside the bedroom he paused as Glynda suddenly walked past him to the other side of the room. ''Where did I put it.'' she muttered as she stepped over the pillows and sheets that Jaune slept on.

While they didn't really have a choice but to share room, because of the disrepair the rest of the building was in. Jaune had refused Glyndas offer to share the only bed in the room.

Not only because she was a goddess and he wanted to show his respect for her. But also because sharing a bed with such a beauty would leave him restless.

''What are you looking for goddess?'' He questioned as she went through a set of boxes filled with clothes and some other miscellaneous items.

''Well you wanted a dagger did you not? I should have one somewhere around here.''

''Oh.'' Jaune waited awkwardly as she continued to rummage through the boxes. ''I kinda thought that all the weapons were in the pile.''

''Yes well- ah here it is.'' Glynda handed him a sheathed blade, about 30 centimeters long, he pulled it out and inspected it. Double edged, the handle was a little worn but it felt sturdy enough. ''That is the weapon that Ren started out with. It should be better than anything you find in the pile I hope.''

''Is he going to be alright with me using this?''

''I don't think he would mind if I were to throw that away.'' She dismissed his worries without mercy. ''He has never been materialistic, and the weapons he uses now are much stronger.''

''Oh.. then thank you goddess.'' Then he added ''I guess I should thank Ren too when he comes back.''

Glynda hummed in approval before she walked over to her bed and motioned for him to come as well. ''I think now would be a good time to update your status, I have some things to tell you about Ren and Nora as well.''

Jaune was not about to argue, and quickly removed his simple short sleeved shirt and laid down on the bed to make it easier for Glynda.

When he was ready she straddled his hips and began by resting her palm in the middle of his back. Soon enough black text appeared, the scripture of the gods that allowed a mortals soul to grow stronger.

She pricked her finger with a needle to bring out just a drop of blood and then used it to rewrite it all. Weaving his experience to become his strength.

''About Ren and Nora.'' She started after a few moments. ''They have been down in the deeper parts of the upper floors hunting to fulfill a quest. For the last few months they've taken to spending up to a week at a time down there for a greater chance to get the item they want.''

''Wow, they must be really strong..'' Jaune mumbled into the pillow before turning his head to get a look at Glynda from the corner of his eye. ''What are they looking to get anyways?''

''An Infant dragons hide.''

He made some sort of choked sound before pushing himself up on his elbows. ''Are you serous!? How freaking strong are those two!? OW!''

Glynda frowned at him and pricked him with the needle again until he laid back down. ''Infant dragons are little for them to worry about, they've both advanced to Level two a few months ago.''

That shocked him even more. While an Infant dragon was the strongest monster in the upper floors, spawning only on the 11th and 12th floors. A level two adventurer was someone who could take on the middle floors, someone who could take on monsters that made an infant dragon seem like nothing but an over grown lizard.

''But then why are they hunting dragons? Shouldn't they go deeper?''

''Well, they have several reasons, one would be that they don't have enough party members to safely go into the middle floors.'' He knew of that, the middle floors were way more dangerous than the upper ones. More monster spawned and much faster, the terrain was unstable and the monsters had abilities that made them extremely hard to deal with.

''Also the rewards for the quest are promised to be some high class equipment provided by a high smith.''

''Oh.'' Jaune lamely responded as Glynda put the finishing touches in. He had spent a lot of time researching nothing but the dungeon so he knew little about blacksmiths and equipment.

''There I'm done.'' Glynda got off his back and fetched a pen and paper. When she had them she sat back down on the bed and began writing down his current status in a language Jaune could understand.

''Now about Ren and Nora, I believe they will be coming back later today or sometime tomorrow. I'd like you to remain at home tomorrow so you can meet them.''

''Yeah, of course. I really look forward to meeting them!'' He felt really enthusiastic about that. He'd finally get to meet his Familia members. Knowing they were so strong made it even more exciting.

''Here you are.'' Glynda handed him the paper with his updated status written on it. ''Keep up the good work.''

Jaune Arc

Level one

Strength: I-9 I-16 Defense: I-7 I-15 Dexterity: I-10 I-14 Agility: I-14 I-21 Magic: I-0

Magic ()

Skills ()

''Nice…'' He breathed as he went over his new stats. ''This is pretty good for my eighth day in the dungeon right?''

''It is.'' Glynda said as she pulled out the clothes she'd be wearing for the day. ''Will you be leaving now?''

''Yeah.'' Jaune responded as he strapped his armor on again. Opting to bring the Gladius and new dagger, instead of the Dao. ''You will be working in the library today again right?''

''Indeed.'' She looked him over and adjusted his shoulder pads a bit before stepping back. ''Good luck today Jaune, stay safe.''

Jaune smiled as he felt the warmth in her tone, this really was his home. ''I will, thank you goddess.''

-Linebreak-

''Hey man! You wanna join our party?''

Jaune really felt like he should have said no to that. Especially now.

''Guys I really don't think I should be going this far down.'' He did his best to keep a calm attitude but his voice cracked a little as he said it.

''Oh don't worry so much Jauney boy.'' The big fellow up front, Carmen or something like that, responded without looking back. ''We're still only on the fourth floor, we have a bit more to go before we're there.''

He really, really should have said no. ''Y-yeah uh. See the thing is I'm not really st-'' He cut himself off. The walls were cracking.

None of the other four seemed to even tense in the slightest at the sound. ''Haha! This is some good timing.'' One of the guys, the one with the bird name pushed him forward. ''Show us what you've got Jauney boy!''

There was no time for him to argue, the monsters had already come out of the walls. Three goblins, slightly larger than the ones he was used to, but still easier to deal with then Kobolds. But the fourth monster was one he had not faced yet. A dungeon lizard.

It was about a meter and a half long with a wide mouth. It hung back while the three Goblins rushed towards the group of adventurers.

Two of them came towards Jaune, while one attacked the big guy.

He noticed instantly that they were a lot faster than the first floor Goblins, but not to the point that he couldn't deal with it. He knew well enough that they liked to go for the legs first so he lowered his stance and readied his Gladius.

As soon as they came close enough he struck out, scoring a deep cut into the neck of the closest Goblin. The other one he dodged to the side and tried to swing at but missed. Then it proved how different it was from the Goblins he had faced so far.

It stopped and jumped at him while he was still recovering from his wide swing. He was thrown off his feet as it slammed into him, and when he was down and dazed it started scratching at his chest plate and arms.

Jaunes next moves were clumsy, he punched it first with his left hand and then with the right, forgetting that he was holding a sword until he saw himself holding it again.

Realizing he was still armed he began chopping at it until it fell off of him.

He sat up breathing ragged and looked to the other boys, only to see them all looking up at the ceiling. One of them, Russel, the only one who's name he'd managed to remember pulled out a knife. ''Check it.''

He threw it upward, and Jaune followed the knives flight path to see it lodged in the head of the dungeon lizard that he'd lost track of earlier. And now it was falling right towards him.

With a yelp he rolled aside before the lizard corpse crushed him.

While he shakily got back on his feet, Russel retrieved his dagger, the boy then gave Jaune a pat on the shoulder. ''You handled that like a champ Jauney boy!''

Somehow he didn't feel convinced by that, and yet the other boys laughed and shouted some similar comments as they kept moving. Only when they walked past was he treated to the sight of the third Goblin, smashed into the wall.

He did his best to compose himself and keep up with the others. He'd already agreed to come with them, going back on his word just wasn't something he did. But this was already more dangerous than he was comfortable with.

''Hey we're not going any further down right?'' He raised his voice a bit when they didn't respond right away. ''Guys I really don't think I'll be much help, if we go down more floors!''

The big guy, sighed and came back to Jaune, only to start pushing him along. ''You don't need to be so scared man.'' He paused to glance at the other boys before he continued. ''This is going to work out just fine. When we get to the fifth floor, you and me will be the vanguard, the rest of the guys bring up the rear and support us.''

''F-fifth..'' Jaune had already read up on that floor, at that point the monster's that spawned changed. ''I.. Seriously man I'm not ready for- GuH!?''

The boy beside him had wrapped a strong arm around his neck in a choking grip. ''There's no need to be scared.'' He repeated in a stronger tone. ''Look were already at the stairs. And you know what they say, 'Don't knock it till you try it'.''

He didn't get to argue as he was bodily dragged down into the lower layer.

Before he knew it he was walking next to the large boy, weapons at the ready in the unfamiliar green tinted corridors.

They hadn't run into any monsters yet, and he was glad for that but now it only made him more nervous.

He felt some sort of tension. His guts were telling him something was about to go wrong.

How long they had been walking he wasn't sure, but if his mental map was correct they had come a good distance from the stairs.

It was getting to him, the walls were his enemy, at any second monsters that outclasses him could crawl out and surround them.

Suddenly the others stopped, and Jaune walked a few more steps in confusion. He couldn't hear anything, no cracking walls or sounds of monsters.

The big guy nodded to his three friends before stepping up to Jaune and setting a heavy palm on his shoulder. ''Jauney, you feel it right? They're coming.''

Before he could find his voice he heard it. The walls were finally cracking.

Another hand set down on his other shoulder ''Which means that this is your stop.'' suddenly he was flying through the air.

He couldn't understand what was happening, he'd been thrown? Why?

His body hit the ground, and he rolled for a few seconds. As soon as his eyes stopped spinning he scrambled to his feet. ''WHAT THE FUCK!?'' to his horror the four were leaving him behind, calmly walking away as several pitch black lanky monsters filled the space between them.

He wanted to shout for them to come back and help. Shout at them to stop kidding around. But he couldn't, the monsters were already there.

-Linebreak-

He stepped out of the tower and squinted as the sun glared down, it was a few hours before the sun would set. ''Well, at least we came back during the day this time.''

''Whew! Fresh air!'' his red headed partner exclaimed in her usual exuberance.

''We probably have a few hours before Goddess goes home. Shall we go buy something to eat on our way back.''

''Oooh! I know just the place Ren! Lets go see if we can get some take away from Yakiryuu!''

He grabbed her hand and held her back to the best of his ability ''I know we made quite a lot of money this time but even so we can't afford to eat at a place like that.''

''Oh come on! We got more than a hundred thousand!''

''That does not mean that we can freely throw it away in a single day.'' He remained steadfast in his decision even though his partner continued to whine about it.

''Listen how about we get something from the Spring maiden's? We can all get what we like there.''

''I guess.'' she was pouting now.

''Goddess will be happy if we get her that vegetarian dish she likes.''

Nora gave a dissatisfied groan but still went along with him as he started towards the restaurant. ''I'm gonna tell Glynnie that you're a cheapskate.''

''I'm fine with being a cheapskate if it means our house getting rebuilt faster.''

-Linebreak-

He was getting close now, just a few more rooms ahead and he would reach the stairs.

Even though it hurt to breath he continued running as he had been for almost an hour now.

Because he knew that if he could reach them, then the stairs would be a sanctuary where monsters did not spawn. If he could reach them then he could rest.

Do or die.

For the first time since his first dive into the dungeon he was happy to have dropped his armor. It had been shredded earlier by a war shadow. He was lucky enough to escape with only a few gashes on his back.

Dumping his armor came later when he'd ran into an empty room.

And now, he could finally see them, the stairs were straight ahead. Finally he'd made it. He would survive.

But then the walls around the stairs began cracking.

The dungeon itself was a living organism, and it did not like those who intruded. If it felt weakness then it would strike.

But Jaune couldn't let it just end.

The stairs were right there. His way to safety was so close!

And so he abandoned all thought of safety and drew his sword and dagger. He sped up as much as he could and aimed at the monster in the middle of the group. If he could get through it, he would be safe.

He kicked off his last step and raised his sword high, and swung with all his might.

It was stopped. He cried out in pain as he slammed into the War shadow, his right arm impaled by it's fingers.

He could see his reflection in the monsters crystal 'face'. Cheeks stained by tears, and over all twisted in fear.

' _This is how I'll die?'_ He thought as the monsters other hand came up to his chest, ready to pierce his heart.

' _I wish I was stronger.'_

He honestly thought those would be his last thought's. And they should have been.

He didn't understand what had occurred, the monsters were all just suddenly gone, only dust floated around him in a storm.

And in the dust there were rose petals.

''Are you alright?''

He really didn't understand why a young girl dressed in a black and red dress stood in front of him now.

And why was she holding a scythe?

-Linebreak-

 _'It doesn't make sense'_

Jaune was making his way back to the surface, already having reached the third floor.

 _'She can't have been older than my even my youngest sister. So why?'_

Why was a little girl so much stronger than him?

''I'm way too weak.''

She had even taken the time to wrap his wounded arm in bandages, black colored for some reason, before she rushed off just as fast as she had come.

''I can't stay this way.''

A wandering group of several Kobolds and Goblins appeared before him. He drew the new dagger with his left hand.

''I swear on my name as an Arc.. I WILL GET STRONGER!''

-Linebreak-

 **AN** : I don't feel completely satisfied with this chapter, but I don't know what I would change to improve it. Damn my lacking imagination.

Anyways in the next chapter I intend to introduce some more characters, and maybe get Jauney boy some new armor and weapons. Also from now on I will start including how Jaune thinks. I only just forgot to write that in the earlier chapters.

I hope you enjoy this story and please do tell me if I make any mistakes.


	4. Chapter three: Recovery

Chapter three: Recovery.

-Linebreak-

''zzzz''

The sound of snoring.

Jaune knew he didn't snore, neither did Glynda.

''So who the hell is snoring?'' Was what he wanted to say. What he really said was more like an inquisitive groan of pain.

Just sitting up was painful for him, he'd never felt more stiff and sore in his life.

He managed to ignore the pain of moving for long enough to identify who was snoring.

Laying sprawled across most of the large bed in the other side of the room was an orange haired girl. ''That's Nora.''

''UWAAA!'' Jaune made to stand, but it turned into a backwards roll when his legs failed him. He came to a stop when he hit the bed.

Sitting on a pillow near where Jaune had slept was a black haired boy, with a sheet of paper and a pen in hand. He seemed to have a streak of pink in his hair, but Jaune decided it must have been his eyes deceiving him.

''And I am Lie Ren.'' The boy offered a lazy wave. ''I apologize if I startled you.''

''j-jaune.'' He paused to clear his dry throat and tried again with a more stable voice. ''Jaune arc, nice to meet you..''

The boy seemed to understand his hesitation and explained ''Lie is my surname.''

''Oh.'' Jaune started to feel awkward, he wasn't sure how to talk to this guy, Glynda had never really explained what they were like. ''So, uh, what time is it? It's kinda bright out.'' Finding random stuff to talk about was his greatest talent though.

Ren put the pen down and got up from his pillow ''It would be around noon now, if I am not mistaken.'' He walked over to Jaune and helped him get up to sit on the bed.

As he sat down next to Jaune after moving Noras leg out of the way he asked a simple question. ''Could you tell me what happened to you last night?''

''Last night?'' For a moment Jaune was stunned as the events of the previous day flooded back into his mind. The group of four who left him to die. Getting his arm impaled on a War shadow. And shamefully getting saved by a girl who might have been half his age.

For a moment he looked down at his right arm, now held up in a sling, and yet the black bandages the young girl had patched him up with were still there.

''Yeah uh yesterday I got into some trouble you could say.'' Jaune chuckled to himself for a second, and continued when Ren simply raised an eyebrow. ''I sort of got caught up with the wrong crowd and… got led down to the fifth floor.''

He nodded as if it was a normal thing ''That does tend to happen, new adventurers can easily misjudge their power and take on challenges they are not ready for. I am glad that you made it out with your life Jaune.''

Oh, he seemed to have gotten the wrong idea. ''N-no Ren. I'm pretty sure those guys only led me down there to get me killed.''

''Excuse me?'' The calm air that had surrounded Ren was suddenly gone, replaced by an aura similar to Glyndas.

A little taken aback by the sudden change in the boys mood Jaune continued carefully. ''They just came up to me when I was about to go into the dungeon and asked if I wanted to join them. I guess I got a little excited and didn't question it.''

''Then did you get their names? If we report them to the guild then..'' Ren trailed off when he noticed how Jaune wouldn't meet his eyes anymore. ''You did get their names right? Jaune?''

''They were pretty hard to remember.. I think the leader guy was named Carmin or something?''

Ren seemed to deflate and gave a wry look to Jaune who was still sheepishly laughing. ''If you don't even know that much then the guild will not even consider a report. I hope you realize that if those people go unpunished they might come after you again to silence you.''

''Wait they can't do that right?! People can't just go around killing each other around here can they?!''

''Of course not.'' Jaune didn't get to feel relieved by Rens answer as he continued. ''Not up here on the surface, then the guild would punish the aggressors. In the Dungeon however..''

''In.. in the dungeon what?''

Ren took a breath ''In the dungeon the guild cannot influence things. Adventurers die almost every day, be it by the monsters, or by other adventurers. Even if accused of murder it is all too easy to for anyone to claim those who died was killed by monsters.''

''I understand that you must feel shocked by that, but here in Orario all Familia are in an endless competition. We all try to gather more power, making alliances and pushing down foes to gain more influence.''

He would have probably continued were it not for how shell shocked Jaune was looking at the moment.

''I apologize, this is quite a heavy subject and you have only just woken up after a trying night.''

Jaune was doing his best to digest the new knowledge, if Ren was to be believed the entire city was practically a war zone. And it only got worse in the dungeon. Could people of other Familia not be trusted?

The asshole group from yesterday had definitely tried to get him killed for seemingly no reason. But then again there was the little girl who had saved him. Maybe it was too soon to paint everyone with the same brush. Until he knew more of the other Familia and adventurers he would have to contain his prejudice.

''I suppose this would be a better subject.'' Jaune looked down to the paper that Ren was holding out to him. He received it with his left hand and made out what was written on it.

-Medical bill-

-Full body checkup: 7000 Lien (Broken right forearm, fractured ribs, deep laceration across most of the body.)

-Applied bandages: 3500 Lien

-Applied medium strength regenerative potion: 10000 Lien

-Applied nutrient potion: 4000 Lien

-Patient escorted to Familia home: 5000 Lien

-Equipment: Tanto knife and short Knife, will be kept at 'The Guild' until payment is received.

Underneath all the text was some scrawled equations, Ren's work, adding the costs up. 29500 Lien in total.

Jaune fell back onto the bed, accidentally landing on Nora in the process. The bill was three times as much as what he had managed to save up.

-Linebreak-

Her pen moved in elegant practiced strokes practiced over a decade. And there it was, another perfectly written autograph.

The Guild employee on the other side of the desk took a look at the paper before replacing it with an identical copy and throwing the previous one In the trash. ''Redo your signature, NOT in cursive this time, please. Write it in 'Common'. I'll fill the rest out.''

''Ah! Aha ha… I'm sorry I am just quite used to writing my name like that.''

The guild employee merely pushed the paper a bit closer to her, clearly fed up with how difficult she was making this.

She had to consciously restrain her hand from making those same strokes again, finally writing it in proper letters. Pyrrha Nikos.

As soon as she lifted her pen from the paper, the employee had taken it back and began filling out the rest of it. Her race, where she came from, her level and other information that she did not think they needed to know. Really why was her weight important?

He finished and gave her what must have been some sort of welcoming speech. ''Alright, with this you are an adventurer in Orario. When you find a Familia you will need to come back here so we can register that as well. From now on you have access to the dungeon, Guild run facilities and shops inside Babel.''

She did her best to keep up with the mans rapid words and followed him along the counter as he suddenly got up and walked off towards the right side of the building. ''As an adventurer you will be assigned an adviser to keep track of your progress and help you with any questions you feel you want to ask.'' He came to a stop and set a hand down on a woman who was reading a book at the reception desk. ''This is Miss Cinder. She will be your adviser. Good luck.''

Who he had meant the good luck for was unknown.

''I will be in your care then, Ms Cinder. Pleasure to meet you, I am Pyrrha Nikos.'' She held out a hand for cinder to shake.

Cinder made no move to return the gesture, and instead chose to look at her document's. ''You're an impressive one, Nikos.'' She started without even looking up at her. ''Level Four even though this is your first time in Orario.''

She snorted before giving her a knowing look ''Bloody crusader of Mistral indeed.''

''Please do not mention that!'' Pyrrha stopped and collected herself before more calmly restating. ''I came here to get away from that life, Ms Cinder. I do not need to be reminded of it.''

Pyrrha continued before Cinder had another chance to ruin her mood. ''Since I am new around here I believe that I should find a group to join up with before I go into the dungeon?''

Cinder looked much less amused to have to do actual adviser work. ''Well.. with your overall power you could solo all the way down to the 18th floor. Honestly the Goliath wouldn't last a second against you.''

Pyrrha looked a bit lost. ''Goliath?''

''Oh you have got to be kidding me.'' Cinder groaned loudly and got up from her seat. She walked off, leaving the confused girl for a minute before returning with a pair of books. She practically slammed them onto the desk and she plopped back down.

''This is the beastiary, it's got all the upper and middle floor monsters including the first 'Monster Rex' Goliath. The other one is the 'Guide' everything you need to know about the dungeon's floors, maps and all that.''

''Oh, then, thank you for these I suppose.'' Pyrrha thanked as she took the books.

''Tch! You should be worshiping me for going out of my way for you, child.'' For some reason the goddess seemed to have actually gotten angry from having to do anything for the mortal.

Pyrrha was just about to leave before she remember to ask one final question.

''Ms Cinder? Before I go, could you tell me if there are any Familia that are recruiting members?''

Cinder glared at her before grudgingly stating ''To the west side of Orario the 'Winter Familia' might be looking for some people.''

Pyrrha did not thank her this time instead opting to leave directly and give the goddess the same treatment she had dished out. Only because she did that she missed as Cinder smiled again, and muttered to herself. ''Too bad for you Winter only takes in Elves.''

-Linebreak-

''So this is the place huh?''

''''It is.'''' Jaune looked over to his goddess and Ren who had said it at the same time. Glynda continued, easily ignoring Ren's apology. ''Rather I'm surprised you do not know of it, you must have come here to have had your injuries checked out. And you were even carried back home after your treatment.''

Jaune laughed a little as he looked at the facilitates, it was all on the 'first floor' of Babel in other words one floor up from the dungeons entrance. This was also the same floor that the item exchange was on. Jaune had only ever turned his haul from the dungeon in for cash every day and never thought to explore in the building.

''Yeah I only remember walking back up from the dungeon and then nothing until I woke up yesterday. I suppose I blacked out as soon as the danger was over.''

Glynda huffed in annoyance while Ren only sighed at Jaunes carefree attitude. ''Wait where did Nora go?'' Jaune looked around but couldn't find the hyperactive girl.

''Oh she left to use the showers in the rest area.'' Ren supplied as he stepped into the infirmary along with the goddess.

Jaune stumbled a bit as he caught up, resisting the urge to ask exactly where the showers were. If he'd known of them he would have already been using them. Using a shower would certainly beat cleaning up with the tap water and towel in his Familia homes bathroom.

The three of them came into the reception room of the infirmary, and Glynda took point as they approached the desk. An attendant in the same tight black uniform as all guild employees were required to wear greeted her. ''Greetings Ms Goddess. Welcome to Babel infirmary, what can we help you with today?''

''I am here regarding this.'' Glynda said as she slid over the recipe for Jaunes treatment.

The employee looked the paper over before glancing over to Jaune. ''And this young man would be the one who was treated then I suppose?'' He nodded even though he felt it should be obvious considering his half mummified state.

She stood and spoke while stepping back to a large cabinet behind her. ''Then I will return the equipment that was held to you.'' She went over the shelves for a moment reading slips of paper attached to bunched up bits of weaponry and armor. Finally she found Jaunes belongings and set a belt with the two daggers down on the desk.

Ren proceeded to count out the money they owe, and Jaune couldn't help but cringe as his new friend set the bunch of bills on the counter. They had refused his offer to give at least all the money he had earned so far to help pay.

He didn't like feeling like he was relying on their charity. He wanted to be equal to them, be a proper comrade, someone they could rely on.

He was drawn from his thoughts when Glynda held his belt out to him. He was about to take it before realizing one important detail. ''Sorry but could you help me put it on, I can only use my left hand right now.''

She seemed to think nothing of it and simply got to it.

It was only at that point that he realized that she would have to get quite close to him to loop the belt around him.

The guild attendant was muttering words that sounded like ''How bold!'' into her hands. And even worse was Ren who was shockingly enough laughing at him.

Jaune stepped back the second Glynda had fastened the belt and almost frantically barked out a 'thank you'.

Ren came to his rescue soon enough. ''Since we are done here, shall we go get Nora and return home?''

''Actually we have one more place to visit before we go back.'' Glynda corrected. ''Jaune lost his backpack during his 'incident', so I think we should go to an item shop and get a proper one for him.''

''Wait how much does a backpack cost?'' Jaunes question was ignored as Glynda and Ren discussed backpack dimensions and enchantments for some reason.

They came across Nora on the way out and set out on the streets of Orario.

During the twenty minute walk to the place Ren and Glynda had decided on an argument had started between Jaune and Nora.

''And with just the right amount of honey pancakes become the breakfast of CHAMPIONS!''

''Yeah!? Well you're only saying that because you haven't tried croquettes yet! Freshly fried potato mash can keep you warm for HOURS!''

''You know nothing you young fool!''

''We're the same age you old bat!''

Nora gasped exaggeratedly before 'lightly' punching his shoulder. Noras 'light' punch almost knocked him off his feet. ''You newbie! You'll be eating pancakes tonight boy!''

''I'll make you eat a croquette even if it's the last thing I do!''

''You will be eating outside if the two of you don't quiet down!'' Glynda interjected before Nora could shout again. ''And Jaune, this is our destination.'' She gestured to the building they had been led to.

'' 'From dusk till dawn' '' Jaune read out loud when he saw the shops name, written over the door. ''Is it really okay to use your open times as the shops name?'' And as he followed the others into the store. ''And isn't that backwards?''

Ren answered as Jaune came in ''I am not sure how many have asked that, but I do know none of them found an answer.'' He sounded resigned. Jaune however was too occupied looking at the stores interior.

Even though it was small and dimly lit, having only the mostly blocked front window for light, it looked like a treasure trove to Jaune.

Every shelf was filled to the brim with exotic goods some he knew of, but many dozens that were foreign to him. He could already spy several types of monster repelling agents, strangely shaped arrowheads and jars of salves that were labeled as elemental resistance enhancers.

While he browsed Glynda and Ren had already spoken to the shopkeeper, an old man who opened a door to a back room and stepped away. Soon enough he could be heard rummaging around, a moment later they could hear a female voice in there for some reason.

After a moment the old man came back out followed by a Faunus girl with a tall pair of rabbit ears on her head. She helped the old man set a pair of backpacks on the counter before greeting them. ''Hello Nora, and.. Nora's friends?''

''Hi Velvet!''

Everyone else returned her greeting and Glynda called Jaune over to check the items.

The two backpacks looked identical to him though, down to the details they seemed to be of the exact same make. ''So should I just pick one or?''

The old man behind the counter seemed to come to life a little more than before and explained in an extremely hoarse and dry voice. Unfortunately it was almost impossible to understand what he was saying.

Seemingly already understanding the situation the rabbit girl spoke up from beside the man. First she gestured to the backpack on the left. ''This is a reinforced normal backpack. It's good for when you are gathering more fragile goods.'' Then the right one. ''And this one has been enchanted, the interior is about twice as spacious as it looks to be. But if you fill it with too many heavy things the threads might not be able to bear the weight and break.''

Jaune instantly fell in love with the enchanted one, the idea of being able to carry back more items from the dungeon at a time was almost too alluring. ''Enchanted! I want the enchanted one.'' He was bouncing as he turned to Glynda. ''Goddess please! I want the enchanted one!''

He calmed down when the old man breathed some words again and the rabbit girl explained. ''Umm. The enchanted one costs 36000 Lien.'' Jaune fell to his knees. ''And the reinforced one costs 15000 Lien.''

''I'm sorry… let me take the reinforced-''

''We'll have the enchanted one then.''

Jaune made choked sounds on the floor as Ren and Nora agreed with the goddess. They had already covered his medical bills, and now they doubled down and got him an even more expensive backpack.

Glynda patted him on the back while Ren paid and Nora chatted a bit with the rabbit girl. ''I will expect you to work hard when you recover Jaune.''

Oh he would work hard.

He decided as Nora helped him back on his feet and Ren gave him his new backpack, that the second he was well enough to fight he would go and conquer the fourth floor. He promised himself, he would pay his Familia back as soon as he could.

-Linebreak-

A storm of rose petals blew through among ancient trees and over barren rocky plains. Soon it dashed up onto a large rock formation, and came to a halt at the edge of the flat area on top of the hill.

A young red and black dressed girl emerged from the winds and stretched out as she ambled into the sea of tents and campfires that littered the hill. This was the Ozpin Familia 50th floor temporary camp.

She returned greetings from the many people of different races who were guarding the camp.

Finally she came to the largest tent in the camp, the hunters headquarters, as the Familia had taken to calling it. She entered and was just about to greet the five adventurers inside, but stopped when a loud call rang from the outside.

''BEOWOLVES! NORTHERN SIDE!''

The formerly calm camp suddenly exploded with sounds, people yelling out orders, grabbing weapons, preparing large scale magic spells. Yet inside the tent the people all calmly readied themselves.

Two older men walked past her and gave light greetings ''Just in time honey. Take your team and have fun.'' One of them said, blonde and tall, wearing little armor other than gauntlets and sabatons.

The other man had slicked back dark hair and ruffled her hair as he walked by ''Better be fast or we'll be done before you join up, squirt.''

The girl smiled at the three others left in the tent and readied her scythe. ''Whoever gets the least kills has to pack up the tent!'' With that she flew out, again surrounded in a storm of rose petals.

One of the girls rushed out after the little one. ''Don't you start without me sis!''

One of the two still left in the tent, a white haired girl glanced at the last one, a girl with black hair and darkly dyed leather armor. ''Well then Blake, shall we come up with a strategy to secure more-'' she cut of as the dark haired girl seized to exist. Merely an image of the one who had sat there once.

The air around her cooled down to temperatures far below zero as she stepped out of the tent and frost gathered into a magic seal behind her. ''Tricking me like that..'' She chanted quickly and the seal behind her grew in size before starting to shoot out a massive amount of sharp shards of ice towards the north side of the camp.

''Tricking me like that only ensures your own loss!'' She shouted as she took off, heading to the fight.

A horde of jet black monsters, vaguely wolf like in appearance were already engaging those that intruded on their domain. Thousands of them came to wipe out the mere 80 adventurers who came down this far.

And yet within an hour all of the beasts were wiped out, leaving not a single of the adventurers injured, only some with broken weapons or armor.

That was the Ozpin Familias expedition.

-Linebreak-

 **AN** : To AgentDraakis. Senpai has noticed you (Because you're the only one who has asked a question this far) and will try to explain some stuff without spoiling the story.

Glynda, Cinder, Winter, Ozpin and several more characters from the RWBY-verse will be gods in this story. And as they did in Danmachi, these gods all have their own motives and desires that will clash and cause conflicts.

However not every adult character in RWBY will be made a god. As in this chapter Taiyang and Qrow are high level adventurers, and so are team RWBY.

And if you want to know who teams up with who, you'll just have to keep reading.


	5. Chapter four: Tiny little steps

Chapter four: Tiny little steps.

* * *

When Pyrrha decided to work some frustration out in the dungeon, she had expected to just fight her way down to the 18th floor and enjoy whatever was down there. According to the guide book there was a small town called Rivira down there that had an amazing view of the very unique floor.

Now however she was lost, she had no were she was between the 13th and 17th floors. And for some reason a Minotaur that she had managed to not destroy in a battle earlier was following her around.

Normally she would have just killed the beast thing, but it somehow looked so, she wasn't sure if pathetic could be used for a two and a half meter tall humanoid bull monster, but it certainly had looked like it.

Even now it trailed after her, as she wandered aimlessly, looking like a lost puppy. ''You wouldn't happen to know how to get down would you?'' She asked it.

''Moooouuuhhhhh.'' It cautiously kept a few meters of distance.

''Down.'' Pyrrha tried again, pointing to the floor this time.

The Minotaur got down on its knees.

''No you- argh!'' She gave up trying. She should have known better than to expect a monster to understand what she was asking it.

''I suppose this is what I get for not studying the maps thoroughly enough.'' Shaking her head she continued walking. Sooner or later she would come across something, a hole to the next floor if she was further up than she thought she was. Or maybe an adventurer who could show her the way.

Though the thought of asking for directions this far down struck her as a bit embarrassing. The wast majority of adventurers never got down this far, and those who did were certainly prepared for it. She would look like a complete fool.

''Ouuuuhhhh.'' The Minotaur interrupted her thoughts with it's loud mooing, she looked back to see it hesitating, looking from her to another hallway.

''Is something there?'' She walked back to see what had caught it's attention, and to her great relief it was a hole in the floor. ''Oh! Exactly, a hole to go down!'' She clapped her hands and smiled up at the beast. ''Great work!''

She wasted no time and jumped into the abyss, grabbing onto the walls to halt her fall every few seconds. The hole continued down, longer and longer, in her decent she realized she must have been somewhere between the 13th and 15th for the drop to just continue like this.

By the time the hole ended her arms and legs were starting to feel tired from all the exercise. She stretched a bit while taking in her surroundings. It was much darker than the floors she had been on, no problem for her highly enhanced senses, and the terrain was more uneven. Like a proper mountain cave, completely unlike the first few floors that had smooth walls and square rooms.

As she was about to set off again she was interrupted by the sound of Minotaur roars coming from the hole in the ceiling that she had just exited.

''Really?''

Moments later the monster tumbled down onto the rocky floor.

Pyrrha decided to just keep going, there was no use in helping the thing out since she would eventually have to kill it. It didn't take long for it to be trailing after her again though.

She continued to wander aimlessly through the rocky pathways for some time. The Minotaur, even if a bit annoying, was a welcome source of amusement in the darkness.

Eventually she came to a sudden halt, spooking her monster companion. She could hear something echo, just the faintest sound of voices carried through the caverns. Other adventurers, finally!

She picked up speed, unhindered by the uneven terrain, and turned corners and passed by several monster corpses on the way. Someone hadn't retrieved the magic stones.

Before long she could make out a few voices, male and female.

''Can't believe our shitty luck!''

''Might as well turn back and farm this floor..''

''OH COME ON! We are all high level two here! We can take it on with just the five of us!''

''No we can't Jara. We would need at least five more people just to keep it distracted and more importantly-''

''Shush! You hear that!?''

Pyrrha slowed down as she neared, she could see the group of adventurers and it wouldn't do to make them think she was hostile. When she was sure that they could see her she put on her winning smile and waved jovially. ''Hello there!''

''I seem to have come unprepared and lost my way. You ladies and gentlemen wouldn't happen to know the way to the 18th floor?''

She was met by hard looks and weapons bared at her.

''MOOOOOOHH!'' Or rather at the Minotaur that was following her.

When she realized their apprehension she turned and glared at the monster until it stopped roaring and acting aggressive. ''I am sorry about this one, it has gotten a little attached to me.''

The group of adventurers started loudly whispering among themselves, weapons still drawn, for a moment before one of them lowered his weapon. A Dwarf man took a step forward, keeping a wary eye on the Minotaur as he addressed Pyrrha.

''You may be strong enough to subdue a Minotaur, Tamer, but I don't think any of us will make it to the 18th.'' Pyrrhas Minotaur growled, and the man gripped the handle of his axe hard enough for Pyrrha to hear the metal handle groan under the stress. ''The Goliath has spawned and we don't have the manpower to take it down.''

After giving the monster a quick slap to make it quiet down she offered a smile to the group ''I hope you will believe me when I say that I am actually level 4. And my advi-''

''Yer level four and got lost down here?!'' She was interrupted by a human male who stood further back. His face looked is if he had been on the losing end of bar fights a few times to many. Missing teeth, flattened nose and scars around his mouth and eyes. He received an elbow to the ribs from a tiger Faunus woman to shut him up.

Pyrrha blushed, just as she expected it was really embarrassing, at least it was dark enough for them not to see it. ''This is actually my first time down here. But as I was saying, my adviser assured me I should be able to handle the Goliath alone, should I have to.''

The group of adventurers whispered among themselves, and Pyrrha could hear them talking about whether to let her join them to take it on.

''Actually-'' Pyrrha said to get their attention. ''-If you would be willing to work with me, you could have it's magic stone, and eventual drop items if you are lucky.''

She was met by five pairs of very doubt filled eyes. ''Y-you see, I came down here for a vacation of sorts, so I wouldn't want to carry things I don't need for a long time.''

After a beat of silence the tiger woman was the first to speak up. ''You promise?''

The dwarf glanced back at the tiger woman before addressing Pyrrha. ''If you truly swear on it then I will not oppose.'' He finally let go of his weapon and held a meaty hand out for her to shake. ''I am Ragwald.''

She took his hand in her own and gave a firm shake. ''Pyrrha Nikos.''

''Gooooohh!'' Minotaur seemed displeased that she was getting along with the others.

''Hey. You think we can send that one in first as a distraction?'' The human male asked everyone, pointing at the Minotaur.

There were some laughs at the proposition, not from Pyrrha however. She gave a thoughtful look to the monster, doing as suggested might actually be the easiest way for her to be rid of it.

''I think that might actually be a good idea.'' She said finally to their shock. They gave her wide berth as she led the Minotaur past them to the large opening that led into the Goliath's room. Even standing outside she could hear incredibly heavy and loud footsteps.

She pointed into the room and pushed the monster forward. ''Your time to battle has come Minotaur!'' She used the most inspiring tone she could muster.

''Oooooh?'' It didn't seem to understand.

''Goliath. Fight!'' She made some aggressive gestures in the general direction of the giant.

After a few more shouts and gestures it seemed to understand. It tore a large chunk of rock out of the closest wall before rushing in with a loud roar.

And the six adventurers outside watched as the monster king swatted the bull monster like a fly.

They were all stunned for a moment, before a few of them let out nervous chuckles.

Pyrrha cleared her throat, trying to disregard the pang of guilt at having sent the beast to die like that. ''I suppose it is our turn now.'' She glanced at the others, who seemed much less composed after the show of strength inside the room. ''I'll take point then.''

The others followed her as she confidently walked in towards the great monster.

* * *

Jaune did his best to keep his sanity in check as his goddess updated his status.

Things had been fine for the first minute or so, she had talked about things as usual while starting the process of rewriting his Falna. But then she just gone silent.

He, as subtly as he could, glanced over his shoulder to look at the Goddess. Her eyes were as sharp as ever, but her mouth was slightly open and her eyebrows were raised ever so slightly.

He had never seen her make an expression like that so his panic only increased.

Why was she being quiet? Why did she look so surprised? What did she see in his soul that made her pause like that? Why was her butt so soft?

He had to ask her what was up. It was the only way to find out what was going on.

He took some deep breaths to steady himself, waited a few more seconds, took a glance back to see her expression hadn't changed, and then he went for it.

''J-Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls of the fffffff-''

Glynda startled and looked up to his now red face. ''I apologize Jaune I was not listening, did you say something?''

If she hadn't heard him be stupid then he could happily ignore his own mistake. ''uh- I mean yeah, just wondering why you went silent back there?''

She silently went back to working on his status, inadvertently leaving Jaune to freak out even more. After a minute she was done and jotted his new status down on a piece of paper.

''I believe we have something to both talk about and celebrate tonight.'' She said while handing it to him.

''What?'' Was all he could say as he looked at the writing.

''Also if you are willing, I would like Ren and Nora to see your new status so they can help us discuss the changes.''

Jaune noted her words somewhere in his mind as he took in the writing. And then promptly started yelling. ''WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTT!?''

The paper slipped from his limp fingers and floated down to the floor, it's text now exposed to the world.

Jaune Arc

Level one

Strength: I-16 I-65

Defense: I-15 H-122

Dexterity: I-14 I-53

Agility: I-21 I-74

Magic: I-0

Magic ()

Skills ([Giant slayer])

-Status growth is increased when facing enemies of greater strength.

* * *

He took another small sip of his mug filled with wine, trying to get used to to the taste, before looking at the three others in the room.

Nora was chugging what was left in the wine bottle, Ren was studying the paper that Jaunes status was written on and Glynda was trying, and failing, to open another bottle of wine.

''So,'' He started, getting their attention. ''How is this possible. I mean I've only been going into the dungeon for like.. a week? No 8 days right? So how?'' He pointed at the paper in Rens hands.

Glynda set the bottle down for a moment to answer ''It is quite rare to awaken skills other than when one levels up. However it varies from person to person, some may never gain any, others may gain a dozen.''

She tried to tug the cork out of the bottle once more before leaving it to Nora who opened the bottle with ease.

''Cases like yours are extremely rare Jaune. You awakened a rare, personal, skill after such a short time. But in this room there are already two other even more rare cases.''

''What do you mean?'' Jaune asked, not noticing that Nora was filling up his mug with more wine.

The goddess looked over at both Ren and Nora and after they nodded their approval she answered.

''Nora already had a skill when I first gave her my blessing.'' She somehow managed to not pay any attention to Jaune who had just sprayed a mouthful of wine across the room and gestured to the other boy. '' And Ren gained a magic spell after only three weeks.''

Ren decided to speak up while Jaune was still too occupied trying to breath. ''Nora had [Abnormal condition resistance] since she started. And I believe I gained my spell [Dragon lord's blessing] so quickly thanks to my being raised by spiritual people when I was young. I learned early on how to meditate and manipulate the power within me.''

''I got my second skill after two months!'' Nora supplied, only making Jaune more stupefied.

Glynda thanked Nora who had reached over to top of her mug with more wine as well. ''But I think we need to talk about your skill Jaune. Or rather the application of it.''

''Ability growth is increased when facing enemies of greater strength.'' Ren read out loud. ''Meaning your status would increase more in proportion to how much stronger your enemy, compared to you. If I understand this right of course.''

Glynda nodded and hummed. ''I would like it if you could try out the growth correction when you go to the dungeon next Jaune. If you view the upper floors in how the monsters compare to status ranks then the third and fourth floor would be around 'H' rank. Most of your status is still in 'I' rank so it should allow us to see how much of a difference there is.''

Jaune having finally had a chance to calm down gazed at his companions. ''Just asking, but.. wouldn't it be better for me to just go with Nora and Ren down to the 12th floor?''

''Denied.'' Glynda said with finality.

''What goddess means-'' Ren interjected. ''Is that even though we are both level two, protecting you would be difficult, and also detrimental to your growth. Both in your status, and as an adventurer.''

Nora burped loudly as she set the second empty bottle of wine down and continued after Ren. ''Yeah Jauney! The upper floors are like a daycare for adventurers.'' She paused to let some more air out of her stomach. ''s'like, you need to learn stuff on each of the floors to survive the ones further down.''

''Exactly. Jaune, you have only just started out, this skill may give you more power in a short time, but true skill trumps status.''

''So then what should I do? Just keep going on my own in the upper floors until you think I'm good enough?'' Jaune honestly felt a little angry over their refusal for him to join them. But the rational part of his mind reminded him that they were right, he wasn't nearly strong enough to go down there, skill or not.''

''Yes.'' Glynda kept it simple. Truly a goddess of keeping it simple.

Ren cut in again ''Actually Jaune, there is something you could do to progress to lower floors while still keeping relatively safe. I think you should find someone to make a party with.''

This was the first time Jaune could look at Ren as if the boy was stupid. He should not have forgotten how Jaunes first experience with a party ended. Instead of responding he simply waved his now mostly healed right arm, still wrapped in black bandages, in front of Ren.

Maybe it was the wine or the poor lighting, but Jaune could swear Ren actually blushed a little as he answered. ''Of course not with dangerous individuals Jaune. You could ask the guild to set you up for meetings with people who want to form a party themselves. Or actively look for someone on your own.''

Jaune nodded at the advice, before asking the most important question, in his opinion. ''I don't have to request for meeting's with my adviser do I?'' He would really rather avoid talking to Cinder if he could help it.

''Of course, I am sure you can ask any guild employee about it-''

''We're out of wine! Jaune, go buy some!'' Nora suddenly cut in, holding Jaunes empty mug in her hand. He hadn't even noticed her take it from him.

Glynda frowned at the girl ''Nora, Jaune is still not fully recovered.''

Nora sighed dramatically before correcting herself. ''Jaune, we're out of wine! LET'S go buy some!''

She dragged him out of the house, quickly followed by Ren who wanted to make sure they didn't get themselves into trouble.

Glynda chuckled even though she was suddenly left alone in the house. She finished her mug of wine before she got up and retrieved some Lien from the bedroom. Just as she came back into the common room the door opened and Nora poked her head in.

''We forgot to bring cash.''

Glynda handed the bunch of money over. ''Do get a bottle of Shade reserve for me.''

''You got it Glynnie!'' And the door slammed shut as fast as it had been opened.

She couldn't help but laugh some more at that. One way or another she had really managed to gather a few really interesting children into her Familia.

* * *

 **AN** : Now I'm sure people will ask about [Giant slayer] so lets try to answer right away.

Giantslayer will NOT be a bullshit ability like Bell's Realis phase. It only increases his growth rate when facing enemies in actual combat, meaning training against Ren, Nora or other stronger characters will not activate the skill. Meaning he would be gaining status points at a normal rate.

As to why I am giving him this ability, it's mostly so I wont have to put big time skips in. In the LN it is said that the fastest person to get from level one to two (Other than Bell) is Ais, who needed A WHOLE YEAR for it.

''And so Jaune grinded for seven months in the upper floors before shit happened.'' Is what it would be like without Giant slayer.

TL:DR praise Giant slayer.

Also I remembered that I can put actual lines in instead of -Linebreak- so have fun with that.


End file.
